‘Strange’ parties find space in Nagaland 

With the Congress self-destructing, Nagaland polls present a win-win situation for lesser-known political parties trying to expand their base and candidates seeking a platform to realise their ambitions 

GUWAHATI

Lesser-known parties with ‘national’ ambitions have succeeded where Congress has failed in the last decade – winning Assembly election seats in Nagaland.

This is a result of a win-win situation for parties who may be unknown in Nagaland, but are seeking to expand beyond their States of origin, as well as for candidates seeking a platform to gain a berth in the 60-member Nagaland Assembly after failing to get tickets from the State’s major political players. 

Take the cases of the Bihar-origin Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Maharashtra-based Republican Party of India (Athawale). These pro-BJP parties had no presence in Nagaland before the February 27 elections were announced, but still managed to win two seats each. 

The RPI (Athawale) had a better strike rate as it contested nine seats compared to the 16 by the LJP (Ram Vilas). 

Other parties with a similar status, but who are slightly more experienced in contesting elections in Nagaland also fared better than expected. The Meghalaya-oriented National People’s Party and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won five of the 12 seats that each contested, while the Janata Dal (United) bagged one out of the seven seats it contested. 

The Rashtriya Janata Dal failed to win any of the three seats it fought. The party founded by Lalu Prasad Yadav has been contesting elections in Nagaland since 2008 without any success.